October 31, 2010

Quinn, Cohen clash in radio debate

Gov. Pat Quinn and three less well-known candidates for governor traded jabs tonight during a forum on Chicago radio station WVAZ-FM, known as V-103.

Republican Bill Brady, a state senator from Bloomington, skipped the event, which might have been a good call based on how some of the questioning went.

The candidates were asked which other political candidate, dead or alive, they would dress up as for Halloween.

"If I wanted to be scary, it'd probably be Sen. Brady," said Libertarian Party candidate Lex Green. "It just scares me what he's going to do to this state."

"I would have to dress as Gov. Quinn, because you know what, his spending scares the heck out of me," said Scott Lee Cohen, who is making an independent bid for governor after resigning the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor following controversial revelations about his personal life.

"I would have to say that Mr. Cohen is the one that scares me the most should he actually be elected for governor, because I think he's the most unprepared," said Green Party candidate Rich Whitney.

Quinn said he would dress as the late U.S. Sen. Paul Simon because he was a "paragon of integrity."

Earlier in the forum, Cohen, a Chicago pawn broker, criticized the governor for saying he should drop out after winning the Democratic primary to become Quinn's running mate. Cohen abandoned his bid under Democratic pressure after post-primary news stories about his prostitute ex-girlfriend and divorce file.

Quinn repeated previous comments that he did not speak to Cohen about dropping out of the race.

"I did nothing. Mr. Cohen voluntarily resigned from his position on the ticket," Quinn said.

"I'll tell you why," Quinn said. "Because I think you had some things in your background and character."

"I was upfront with the people, everybody knew about it before I decided to run, governor," Cohen said. "You should have been a man and said, you know, Scott Lee Cohen is my running mate."

"I said you should step aside, I'd say it every day, if you want," Quinn said. "I think you don't have the character to be governor. I think the people need somebody of integrity and honesty and I think I've done that. I don't think you have those characteristics."

All 50 aldermen on the Chicago City Council had to file paperwork earlier this year detailing their outside income and gifts. The Tribune took that ethics paperwork and posted the information here for you to see. You can search by ward number or alderman's last name.

The Cook County Assessor's office has put together lists of projected median property tax bills for all suburban towns and city neighborhoods. We've posted them for you to get a look at who's paying more and who's paying less.

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Clout has a special meaning in Chicago, where it can be a noun, a verb or an adjective. This exercise of political influence in a uniquely Chicago style was chronicled in the Tribune cartoon "Clout Street" in the early 1980s. Clout Street, the blog, offers an inside look at the politics practiced from Chicago's City Hall to the Statehouse in Springfield, through the eyes of the Tribune's political and government reporters.